Forgiveness
by clemxlukebrotp
Summary: Takes place directly after the events of the ending of Amid the Ruins. Clementine finds herself yet again all alone, not knowing who survived the shootout. She is reminded of the horrors that she has faced, and struggles to cope. She, and perhaps some others, take the time to mourn the loss of those who died along the way, and to give them the send-off they deserve.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **This is pretty much a teaser chapter. Any future chapters will be longer!

**Chapter 1**

Clementine stumbled to the snow-covered ground, exhausted from running. She had no idea who had survived the shootout, if anyone at all. She remembered being in between Luke and Kenny when it happened. The shooting between them and the Russians had begun after Clementine had noticed that Rebecca had turned, the baby still in her arms.

"Rebecca." Clementine sighed heavily in sorrow. Bec hadn't trusted her when they first met, but as time went on, she had not only come to trust her but accept her as one of her own. Clementine closed her eyes as she kneeled in the snow, trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall. Rebecca's final words to her ran through her head. She had told Clementine that she was _family_. She remembered how her heart swelled, and in that moment as she held Rebecca's baby, she felt _happy_.

Soon, the happy thoughts were replaced by thoughts of Rebecca's clouded, dead eyes as she turned. Kenny had shot her without hesitation, all while the Russians had them surrounded and were ready to shoot.

That was when all hell broke loose.

Clementine dove into the snow, instinctively reaching for her gun before she noticed she didn't have it. Where had it gone? She saw a couple of the Russians get shot before she felt someone picking her up and dragging her away.

"Clem! We gotta go. Now!" It was Luke's voice.

"We can't leave the others!" Clementine screamed at him, he was still pulling her away from the scene where she could see Kenny shooting at someone behind a tree. There were bodies laying out in the open, but she couldn't tell whose they were.

"Clem, we don't have a choice here. We're going to get ki-" Luke flew backwards as he was shot in the side of his torso.

"Luke, no!" Clementine cried out, watching him slump to the ground.

"Get out of here! RUN!" he shouted over the gun fire. There was still someone shooting at them from behind a tree. It was the Russian woman who had been standing beside Arvo. Kenny wasn't in the same place he was just seconds ago. Arvo was nowhere to be seen, unless he was one of the bodies on the ground.

"Luke, I can't leave you like this!" Clementine pleaded, moving to grab Luke to try and pull him to his feet. He shoved her away from him and she fell back to the ground.

"I said get the fuck out of here, Clementine! Don't worry about me, or anyone. Just GO!" The contrast of Luke's blood on the snow sent chills down Clementine's spine. She gasped as she leapt to her feet, running as fast as she could. She turned around long enough to see Luke pull out his gun and fire three shots in succession before she heard the "click" as he ran out of ammo. She nearly turned around to go back for him, but with no gun, she didn't stand a chance. She didn't see Kenny, Bonnie, or Mike make it out in the chaos. They either made a run for it, were hiding behind the trees, or were dead. She prayed that someone managed to get the baby and escape. She heard a couple more distant gun shots in the distance, and she hoped that no one she cared about was on the wrong end of them.

She ran for what felt like hours before collapsing into the spot she now sat. Cold nipped at her cheeks, and she began to shiver. She looked around her, and the silence made her heart race. She was suddenly alone in the woods again.

"I can't do this again," Clementine whispered to herself. Jane was wrong. She wasn't better off on her own. She didn't _want_ to be on her own. Her cold cheeks began to burn with anger as she remembered that Arvo had blamed her for robbing him, when it was Jane who had done it – it was Jane who was largely at fault for all of this. Part of Clementine hoped that Arvo had caught up with Jane, but she shook those disturbing thoughts from her head. Being angry would only waste what small amount of energy she had left, but she made a mental note not to trust Jane again should she see her.

She got back to her feet, and continued to walk deeper into the snowy wilderness.


	2. Chapter 2

** Chapter 2.**

* * *

"Clementine."

It was pitch black, and Clementine couldn't move. It was as if she was paralyzed. The voice that called her name sounded muffled and distant, but also familiar somehow. Where had she wandered to? Had someone taken her? Was she dying?

"Clementine, you need to get up now."

There was no urgency behind the voice. It was calm, soothing. Clementine felt as if she could just drift away. Part of her wanted to.

"Remember what I told you," the voice had suddenly become loud and clear, and there was no mistaking it.

"_You're strong, Clem._"

Clementine's heart stopped and she desperately tried to see beyond the darkness without success. She tried to cry out, but where was her voice? She was trying to move, but she was completely frozen in place. She screamed and screamed, and finally her voice came back to her. But it was too late.

"LEE!"

"Wake up, sweetpea. It's time to go."

"Lee, wait! Please!" she begged as Lee's voice began to fade again. A strange fuzzy sensation came over her, and the darkness slowly began to lift.

"Clem? Clem, wake up! Oh god, please be alive!"

"Of course she's alive, she just passed out. Give her a damn minute!"

Clementine jumped awake, looking around in bewilderment as reality set in. She had fallen asleep against a large tree, and Lee's voice was just a dream. A lump formed in her throat, and her heart sank.

"Oh thank god! Clem, are you okay?"

Luke was kneeling beside her, his shirt full of blood. His soft brown eyes looked down at her, panicked.

"Luke?" she managed to say, "You're… okay."

"Yeah. Well, I mean I was shot, but it just grazed me. I'm fine, Clem. But what about you? Are you hurt? I saw you just lying here and I thought…I thought they had got you."

Strong feelings of both sadness and relief hit Clementine like a ton of bricks, and she couldn't hold them back.

"Luke, I…" she burst into tears and threw her arms around Luke instinctively, hugging him tightly as she began to sob into his shoulder.

"Whoa, hey. It's all right Clem," Luke said in a gentle voice, holding her comfortingly, "Everything's okay now. We're here with you."

"Everything's not okay! Everyone is dead!" Clementine sobbed. What Luke said began to register in her brain just then. Did he say _we_?

"That's not true," Luke told her, his eyes glancing to the other side of her. Standing a few feet away was Kenny, and he was smiling at her.

"Hello, darlin'. You all right?"

"Kenny!" Clementine jumped to her feet and ran to him, wrapping her arms around him and they hugged each other for a good minute.

"Son-of-a-bitch saved me. Dragged me outta there at the last minute," Luke said, his eyes on Kenny as he spoke.

"I thought about leaving his ass behind, but lucky for him I was feeling generous," Kenny admitted. Clementine looked at Kenny and then Luke. She hoped that this meant that they would both agree to settle their differences.

"Yeah, thanks for uh…for not doing that," Luke said thankfully, reaching to scratch the back of his head awkwardly. Kenny nodded quickly.

"Just don't make me regret my decision. You do anything as stupid as you did back there at that gift shop-"

"Nothing like that will ever happen again. You can count on it," Luke told him, his voice filled with regret and shame. His eyes glanced at Clementine and she smiled at him reassuringly. He smiled back weakly.

"Good," Kenny grunted.

Luke held his side as he began to walk forward, "Now we should probably find somewhere safe to rest for the night. We can't stay out here. I'm sure Bonnie is thinking the same thing."

"Bonnie escaped?" Clementine asked in a hopeful voice, "Did she get the baby?"

"She beat me to it," Kenny said, almost bitterly. Luke glared at him, but ignored his comment and turned back to Clementine.

"Yeah, Bonnie grabbed the baby and made a run for it, right after she shot the Russian woman in the head." Luke told her. A small reassuring smile appeared on his face, but there was still a small amount of worry in his expression.

"And Mike?" Clementine was worried that neither of them had mentioned him.

Luke's eyes fell, "I don't know about Mike."

Clementine's eyes dropped to the ground and she felt like she might start crying again. Luke put his hand on her shoulder.

"He might have gone after them, Clem. I just didn't see him is all. It all happened so damn fast, it was just…chaos. Bonnie said she'd continue on to the town and would see us there. Mike might be there too, so that's where we gotta go."

"That's right," Kenny chimed in, "We lost a lot of time with those Russian fuckers back there, so we better get moving. Hope you're fit to travel, Luke, 'cause that sun's going down fast."

"I'm good. Don't have any other choice," Luke sighed, clearly trying to ignore the pain raging through his side.

Kenny turned to face Clementine, "You ready, Clem?"

Clementine's mind was deep in thought. She was thinking about Lee, and she wondered if he had been trying to look out for her from beyond, or if it really was just a dream. She remembered what he told her, and it gave her hope. She looked at both Kenny and Luke before marching ahead of them in the direction of the town.

"Yeah. I'm ready."


	3. Chapter 3

They had been walking for over an hour. Clementine noticed that Luke had started to fall a bit behind, and she slowed down beside him.

"Are you doing okay?" she asked him worriedly, noting that he immediately stopped holding his side and straightened up in an attempt to hide his pain. He forced a smile at her.

"I'm fine, Clem. Don't you worry about me." He quickened his pace again, but Clementine knew he was in agony.

Kenny was a good twenty feet ahead of them, clearly determined to get to the town as quickly as possible. He turned around briefly to glare at them, shaking his head impatiently. Clementine waved him on, hoping he wouldn't start "barking orders" as Luke put it. Kenny's expression softened, and he turned back around and continued walking.

"You're not fine," Clementine stated, staring at Luke with concerned eyes, "You're in a lot of pain, I can see that. Don't try to hide it from me." It was more than physical pain that he was dealing with. Luke's forced smile turned into a frown briefly before his face hardened.

"Of course I'm in pain," he snapped, "You think bullets don't hurt? Even if it is just a graze, it hurts like hell, and it's probably still bleeding."

"Let me check it," Clementine suggested, moving to lift his blood stained shirt.

"No," Luke pushed her hand away gently, "Leave it. It's fine."

"I'm sorry," Clementine said, slightly hurt by his dismissive behaviour. She looked to the ground before moving ahead to walk in between both Luke and Kenny. She tried talking to Kenny earlier, but he only seemed interested in reaching their destination, and finding the baby. Once Kenny had a plan in motion, nothing was taking his mind off of it. The three of them continued on in silence for what felt like hours, until finally the town came into view.

"We made it!" Kenny exclaimed, running ahead without hesitation.

"Kenny, wait up!" Clementine shouted, turning back to look at Luke who had started to limp slightly.

"Let him go, Clem," he said, exhaustion in his voice, "No use trying to stop a man on a mission."

"Except we're all on the same mission," Clementine muttered in agitation. Luke said nothing, and she realized that his footsteps had ceased behind her. She looked back at him to see that he had stopped completely, his eyes on the ground. She couldn't read his expression.

"Luke?" Clementine took a few steps toward him nervously. Luke shook whatever thoughts he had been thinking out of his head, starting to move forward again.

"Sorry, sorry. Let's just get to this damn town," he said, sighing heavily, "Maybe we can hole up in that church. It looks like a pretty sturdy building."

"Yeah, it does," Clementine agreed. She didn't like how strangely Luke was acting, but she chalked it up to blood loss and lack of sleep.

As they entered the town, they saw Kenny standing outside of a pharmacy. He nodded to them as they caught up to him.

"Thinking you two should check to see if there's some medicine left in there, maybe some bandages too," Kenny was scoping out the rest of their surroundings as he spoke, as if searching, "I'm gonna go try and find Bonnie and the baby. Then we can all head into that church for the night."

"That's what Clem and I were thinking," Luke said tiredly, forcing another smile.

"Good, then it's settled," Kenny blurted, "Meet ya there."

"Shouldn't we stay together, Kenny?" Clementine suggested. The thought of losing anyone else filled her heart with dread. Kenny was quiet for a few moments before turning to walk down the deserted street.

"You two will be fine. Just get that turd patched up and head to the church." Kenny had said all of this without even looking at her.

Clementine's eyes threatened to fill with tears as she realized that the baby meant more to Kenny. Was she nothing more to him now than the stupid kid who got Sarita killed? Her heart quaked at the thought of Sarita's final moments amongst the herd of walkers outside of Carver's camp. Clementine watched Kenny disappear around the corner, and she continued watching for a few moments after he had gone, hoping he might turn around. He didn't.

"Y'okay, Clem?" Luke asked her, his voice growing weaker by the minute. Clementine turned to face him and was taken aback by how pale he had become.

"Oh my god. Luke! Here, we need to get you inside!" Clementine exclaimed as she grabbed him by the arm and began dragging him toward the pharmacy's entrance.

"I asked you a question," Luke said, his eyes serious.

"I'm fine!" Clementine shouted, "Give me your gun." She snatched his pistol out of its holster before he could answer.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Luke grumbled, "That ain't yours." His words were slurred. Clementine put her small hand to his forehead. He was burning up.

"Dammit Luke, come on!"

Clementine hoped that the doors weren't locked. She held her breath as she went to pull on the door handle, exhaling with relief when it swung open with ease. She peered inside to check for walkers. The pharmacy was dark and quiet – finally some good luck. Clementine held the door open for Luke and motioned for him to go inside. He smiled at her and limped ahead of her into the pharmacy, clutching a hand to his bloodied side. Clementine took one last look outside before following him in and letting the door close behind her.

The pharmacy looked pretty empty, its shelves almost fully picked clean. Clementine managed to find some gauze and a few over-the-counter pain killers, but not much else. She opened the pain killers and poured a couple of tablets into her hand. She offered them to Luke, who had slumped down onto one of the waiting chairs in front of the pharmacy counter. She dropped the tablets into Luke's pale palm, and he popped them into his mouth. He grimaced as he tried to swallow them without water, and Clementine tried not to laugh at him.

"I'll see if I can find you something to drink," she said.

"Thanks, Clem," Luke told her, looking behind the pharmacy counter, "There might be some better stuff back there."

Without a thought, Clementine was hopping over the counter, which to her surprise still had quite a bit of medicine left toward the back. She thought about the pharmacy in Macon where she had helped Lee clear the door so that he could get medicine for Lilly's father. She sighed sadly at the thought of Lee. She couldn't help but wonder what he would think of her now, knowing all the things she had seen, and all the choices she's had to make. She wondered if he would be proud of her. Sighing again, she focused on one of the shelves, realizing that she had no idea what she was looking for.

"What am I looking for, exactly?" she hollered to Luke. He didn't answer.

"Luke?"

She peered from over the counter to see that he was no longer sitting in the chair. Her heart began to race frantically.

"LUKE!" she screamed in a high, panicky voice. She jumped back over the counter, holding Luke's pistol out in front of her. Luke had another gun, so he wasn't defenseless, but he was in no condition to be wandering around. Clementine suddenly heard raised voices outside of the building.

"No! You're dead. You're dead! They told me you were dead!" Luke's voice shouted, and there he was standing outside, facing the direction that Kenny had gone. Clementine quickly ran out to him, her heart ready to burst through her chest.

"Luke, what are you–" Clementine's voice suddenly disappeared as she stared in awe at who was standing in front of her.

"Christa…?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4.**

* * *

Clementine blinked, expecting Christa to disappear like a cloud of mist. But she didn't.

Christa stared at Clementine in shock, seemingly unable to speak. She lowered her gun briefly before shifting her gaze to Luke, who looked to be in distress, and she raised it again.

"No! Don't," Clementine warned her, and Luke suddenly took a step toward Christa, who began to slowly back away, her gun pointed directly at him.

"Oh, he's your friend?" Christa asked bitterly, "Mind telling him to back the hell off?"

"I'm sorry," Luke said, his voice beginning to break slightly, "I'm so sorry."

"Luke?" Clementine asked him in a confused tone, "You…know Christa?"

"No, he doesn't," Christa answered for him, "Clem, he…he doesn't look good."

"I should have done something," Luke said mournfully, stepping even closer to Christa, "I just…left you back there. I…I didn't know what to do." All of the colour had drained from his face, his eyes unfocused. Clementine and Christa looked at each other worriedly when Clementine suddenly realized what was happening.

"He was shot quite a few hours ago," she explained quickly, "He has a really high fever, and I think he's lost a lot of blood."

"He's completely delirious," Christa stated, her face somehow more cold and distant since Clementine had last seen her, "You need to get him some antibiotics as soon as possible. Get him inside."

"Luke? Can you walk?" Clementine asked him in a gentle voice. She moved to stand in front of him and stared into his eyes. He was staring back, but he was not looking at her. He was not there with her. Clementine grabbed him gently by the arm and began to lead him to the pharmacy's front door, which Christa was holding open for them.

"Come on! Hurry up," she griped impatiently.

"I'm trying! He's heavy," Clementine muttered. She felt Luke beginning to collapse, "Oh shit."

Christa sighed in annoyance as she ran to aide Clementine in dragging Luke into the abandoned pharmacy. Once inside, Luke fell to the floor, his breathing laboured. Christa instructed Clementine to search for antibiotics while she took a look at Luke's wound. He winced slightly as his cotton shirt brushed his side as Christa slid it off.

"What are you doin'?" he asked her, eying her untrustingly. Christa eyed him back.

"Trying to save your life," she stated simply. Luke took a moment to study her face.

"You're… a woman," he observed, earning a small smile from Christa.

"You sound disappointed," she said as she inspected his wound carefully.

"No, it's just. I could've sworn you were…somebody else," Luke told her in a quiet voice. He looked away from her, facing the pharmacy counter, "Where's Clem?"

"She's finding you some antibiotics. Your wound is well on its way to infection. I'm sure you don't want that," Christa was rummaging in her backpack as she spoke, pulling out a clean rag and some rubbing alcohol, "I should go check on her."

"You don't need to check on her," Luke said weakly.

"Oh?" Christa questioned, "Just what has she told you about me?"

"No, that ain't what I mean," Luke replied, shaking his head, "She doesn't need to be checked on. That little girl can take better care of herself than most adults." Christa just stared at him, remaining silent.

Clementine had been lucky to find multiple bottles of antibiotics. She had grabbed a few random bottles as well, not knowing what they contained. She made her way back over the counter to find Luke and Christa sitting in silence.

"Everything okay here?" Clementine asked in a cautious tone. Christa had just finished cleaning Luke's wound, who was looking even more pale than before.

"Well, the good news is the bullet just grazed him," Christa said, keeping her eyes focused on the wound.

Clementine felt herself holding her breath as she kneeled down beside Christa and placed the medicine on the floor next to her, "And the bad news?"

"It's infected," Christa said, seemingly indifferent, "Did you find antibiotics?"

"Yeah," Clementine answered, motioning to the selection on the floor, "There was actually a lot of medicine back there. There still is."

"I know," Christa said flatly, grabbing a bottle of penicillin, "I've come here to stock up a few times. You're lucky it wasn't picked clean. Most of these places are."

Clementine turned her attention to Luke who had started moaning softly in pain, a sheen of sweat evident on his pale face.

"We need to hurry, he's getting worse. He's going to be okay, right?" she asked Christa, who still wouldn't look her in the eye.

"Depends," she said, "I need a syringe for this. There should be one back there. Stay with him, I'll be right back."

Clementine looked at Luke worriedly, placing her small hand on the side of his face. He groaned in response. The over-the-counter painkillers she had given him earlier were clearly not having much of an effect. Christa was on her feet and walking toward the counter before Clementine could even blink.

"Christa…" Clementine said in a soft voice.

Christa stopped hesitantly, her hands on the counter. She kept her back to Clementine, who was desperately trying to keep her emotions at bay.

"I'm glad that _you're_ okay."

Christa turned slowly, finally looking at Clementine. Her eyes softened briefly before she turned back around and continued over the counter.

Clementine wasn't certain, but she thought she heard Christa mutter to herself softly.

"I'm not."


End file.
